Regular Meeting, August 27, 2008

(Our speaker, Ole Van Goor, of Copper Harbor graciously accepts the coveted Rotary mug from Jim Lowell.)


There were 15 members and 4 guests in attendance at the meeting. Guests were Assistant District Governor Bob Sharkey (Houghton Rotary), Tom's wife Joy and her brother and wife, and our speaker, Ole Van Goor of the Dapple Gray Bed and Breakfast.

After a round of Happy Dollars (among them, Dan's car repair and your editor will be a great grandfather next March) lunch was served.

Bob Sharkey announced that the district was looking for small projects from its Rotary clubs to which the district will donate a matching grant. Come up with ideas, folks.

Following lunch, Ole Van Goor was introduced. His bed and breakfast, Dapple Gray, is located just outside of Copper Harbor across from the old Devil's Washtub. Those who have been to one of the Van Goor's open houses can attest to the splendid accommodations offered; in short, they are magnificent. They are open almost year round but mainly April through October. In addition to the bed and breakfast, the Van Goor's have a beautiful antique shop specializing in Victorian antiques with an emphasis on glass and ceramics. Books, dolls and souvenir spoons are also featured. At the conclusion of his talk, Ole passed out gift certificates to all members offering a 20% discount for reservations. He left several more for those members who were not there at the meeting but would like to take adv antage of their offer. See Don Kilpela.



(A picture in need of a caption. Anyone?)



Jim Lowell, who chaired the meeting in Kevin's absence, then reported on the Tammies: 495 tickets sold: 342 regular price with the rest at various group discounts. In total, we will probably clear over $1,7o00.00 which will be distributed to our local charities throughout the year. Thanks to all who helped. Jim also noted that if we had sold out the house, the rest of the money would be pure profit, something to think about next year.

See you next week.

Regular Meeting, August 20, 2008

Left: Kathy Flagstadt of the Michigan Rehabilitaion Service.

The meeting was attended by 15 members and 5 guests. Guests were Linda and Dave Grahek and their granddaughter, "Pete" Pietri of Houghton Rotary, and Kathy Flagstadt of Dept. Of Labor and Economic Growth, State of Michigan, who was our speaker.

After a round of Happy Dollars, Kevin said that the membership roster was being updated soon. You will have the option to remove your birth date from the roster if you wish. He also reported that the Tammies fund-raiser was successful again this year and the housing was excellent.

After lunch, Ms. Flagstadt was introduced. She explained that she works for the Michigan Rehabilitation Service as a Rehabilitation Counselor. Her primary duty is to determine what rehabilitation a disabled person needs to become part of the workforce or to school. That is her primary goal, to get disabled people back to work or to school. Disabilities serviced in 2006 included Physical, mental, learning, hearing loss, cognitive, drugs and alcohol, and visual disabilities. Her area is Baraga, Houghton and Keweenaw counties, a wide geographic landscape that keeps her on the move. Presently she councels over 50 clients of which about 30% are in college. If anyone knows of someone needing this type of employment service, please call 800-605-6722 or e-mail MRS-CustomerAssistance@Mighigan.gov. There is also a website at www.michigan.gov/MRS.

Her presentation was followed by numerous questions and answers.

Before closing, Dan gave us a humorous account of his adventure with his new Suburu that broke down finally in Iowa. At this point, Dan is still driving a loaner and waiting for his car to be fixed. Update next week.



Jim Lowell reporting on preliminary results of the Tammies income.